Time Lapse Photo Help

[bballbaby]

So I recently picked up a Canon 50D from a brother on this board.

I'm no aspiring photographer, but the price was right and I want to be able to take a good picture with a good camera for posterity sake. {All you professionals, please don't rip that statement apart} I've got the standard lens that came with it (18-55mm) and I just picked up a cheapie Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 telephoto lens. The unit also came with a macro lens for the 18-55mm which is fun to play with. And I plan to pick up a fish-eye which will also be fun to play with.

So without having to read all 264 pages of the manual, can anyone give me a cliff note version of how to take time lapse photos?

I'm headed to Jamaica in a few weeks and will likely be afforded several Western views over the Carribbean Sea of late afternoon/early evening distant thunder/lightning storms.

In my head these opportunities will make for some excellent photos.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[RacFocus]

I don't know how long of a time lapse photo you are looking for, but a tripod or something solid (i.e rock, bench, etc) to set the camera on will be a must. You have to adjust the exposure time to the length of time lapse you want. It will be a tricky balance of test and check to get a good exposure. ISO will have to be down in the 100-200 range and the f-stop will need to be be above 8 I am sure. I bought a couple neutral density filters for my lens that have helped. Then are just grey filters that cut the amount of light coming into the camera down so that you can have longer exposures. I have routinely done 30sec during daylight or evening with the filters to get lightening.

EDIT: learn to use your camera in manual mode if you don't already know how. That way you can make all the adjustments to exposure time.

Any other specific question let me know. I will do my best to answer. And what part of Jamaica are you headed to? Went there on my honeymoon, but that was before I was serious about still photography.

 

[bballbaby]

Thanks for the tips. We're headed back to Negril. Been ther 4 times now since 2007 and love it. Last trip in 2010 was to Ocho Rios...Negril is way better

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

Lucky man. I read that is a pretty great shooter

 

[RacFocus]

We did the Sandals Negril for our honeymoon and loved it.

 

[bballbaby]

We like Couples Swept Away. No need for us try anything else. We did do Couples Ocho Rios and we're going back to swept away if that tells you anything

 

[The EVP]

You will need a tripod, a programmable wired remote, a large enough memory card to store the photos, photo editing software that will allow you to compile the individual pictures into a video (Lightroom, etc.), a chair or comfortable blanket to sit on while the camera is snapping away, something to occupy your time. Figure that average video is 30fps. If you want a 10 second TL video, it will require 300 photos. Also, the longer you go between shots, the longer it will take to get all the pictures, but the more dramatic the effect of the video. You will also need a video editing program if you wish to include music or intro / break frames.

So lets say you want to capture the last hour of a sunset in a 10 second video. You will require 300 pictures taken over the course of 1 hour or about 5 per minute. You would program the remote to snap a picture every 12 seconds for that hour. Bear in mind though that lighting conditions will change so you will have to change settings between shots. The easiest way to do that is to use the Shutter Speed setting in your camera (usually an S on the jog dial), as it gets darker, you need to increase the time of the shot. Since you're shooting a landscape, use a small aperture (f-stop) setting.

EDIT: If your camera has a time lapse mode, you won't need the remote. Just got to tell it how long to wait between shots and how long to shoot for. Make sure your battery is completely charged as well.

 

[RacFocus]

I was under the impression the original poster was looking for 1 photo that showed a time lapse as opposed to the video. But maybe EVP is right? Cuz they would be two completely different approaches. Maybe bballbaby could clarify exactly what he is wanting. If you are doing the 1 photo that shows a time lapse you could also take a series of exposures and then merge them in a photo editing program to make a time lapse picture.

 

[The EVP]

I was under the impression the original poster was looking for 1 photo that showed a time lapse as opposed to the video. But maybe EVP is right? Cuz they would be two completely different approaches. Maybe bballbaby could clarify exactly what he is wanting. If you are doing the 1 photo that shows a time lapse you could also take a series of exposures and then merge them in a photo editing program to make a time lapse picture.

I could be wrong....not sure. Those time lapse photos that are stitched together to make one photo are pretty cool.

 

[RacFocus]

I was under the impression the original poster was looking for 1 photo that showed a time lapse as opposed to the video. But maybe EVP is right? Cuz they would be two completely different approaches. Maybe bballbaby could clarify exactly what he is wanting. If you are doing the 1 photo that shows a time lapse you could also take a series of exposures and then merge them in a photo editing program to make a time lapse picture.

I could be wrong....not sure. Those time lapse photos that are stitched together to make one photo are pretty cool.

Yup, that's why I asked for some clarification. Big difference in the 2.

 

[bballbaby]

Looking for the photo version

 

[The EVP]

Oh, the photo version I'm not sure of. Some cameras have the ability to stitch the pictures together without having to use outside software, some don't.